The Teen Brain: Under Construction

When does a person really become a 'grown up?' Surely age can't be the only determining factor. Laci Green looks at how the brain matures and what it means- from a scientific perspective- to be an adult.

Read More:
The Teen Brain: Still Under Construction
"One of the ways that scientists have searched for the causes of mental illness is by studying the development of the brain from birth to adulthood."

Decision-making in the adolescent brain
"Adolescence is characterized by making risky decisions. Early lesion and neuroimaging studies in adults pointed to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and related structures as having a key role in decision-making."

Brain Maturity Extends Well Beyond Teen Years
"Under most laws, young people are recognized as adults at age 18. But emerging science about brain development suggests that most people don't reach full maturity until the age 25."

My Immature Brain Made Me Do It?
"When you take an MRI of a person's brain, it is easy to distinguish gray and white matter. A wealth of neuroscience data has shown that these two parts of the brain change during development from childhood to adulthood. The density of gray matter appears to decline through adolescence in a process known as pruning. Although not well understood, it is believed that pruning allows the brain to function more efficiently."

Brain doesn't mature until 20s, experts say
"Brain researchers are increasingly confirming what auto-insurance actuaries have long known - the powers of decision-making, especially under stress, don't fully mature in most people until they are in their mid-20s."

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[markmiller]

Adults are people who threw away their souls. I'll be a kid forever.

[THEBLUEGLOVE]

“The day the child realizes that all adults are imperfect, he becomes an adolescent; the day he forgives them, he becomes an adult; the day he forgives himself, he becomes wise” 

-- Alden Nowlan

[WeNeedASpaceShip]

You become a grown up when you find out that eating nothing but ice cream for a whole week wasn't a good idea at all. And I know what I'm talking about..

[bre]

I always did wonder whether I was being dramatic with my emotions (not on purpose), or if I'm just plainly a very emotional person, because my emotions tend to feel very intense..

[FotonicBeats]

shit...time moves so fast...I feel like yesterday I was digging a hole with a stick and now I'm digging in my pockets for money to pay for stupid shit...

[xxhellspawnedxx]

I'd say adulthood as an ideal is flawed, at best. More crassly, it's about letting your life fall into a pace that is 99% routine with little to no spontaneity in it. 

[kotosqoposrly]

You're a grown up when you stop worrying about the boy who doesn't love you to start worrying about the bill that has not been paid.

[ghistus]

When I was 12, my brain was more advanced than anybody else in the 6th Grade. I knew all about NASDAQ and how the stock market worked. By elaborating my emotions and learning psychology, (Yes, I independently learned about psychology) I knew all about sexual orientations to the different sections of the brain. But, as I was starting puberty, and as my dad was laid off, my self-esteem was nowhere to be found. If I got happy for whatever reason, I would go back to being depressed in the blink of an eye. I studied myself and found out why I was feeling the ways that I was. I wondered why I had sleep deprivation and what was causing it. Since the 2nd Grade actually, I've been studying the "segregation" in schools and what the "nerds" thought and what the "badasses" thought. In 2006 I think, Robert Webb who was in his early 40s at the time. His daughter Meadow Webb (age 9)  was put in the middle of an "armed" robbery commited by her father. The cashier at the "AmPm" immediately called Kittitas County Law Enforcement (in Washington State). I knew why he robbed the "AmPm, " they lived in an apartment and he could barely pay the rent. You can Google the story. I don't have all of the information.

[LynneSkysong]

What make a person "grown-up?" I would say, in short, the loss of innocence and the acceptance of responsibility. 

[SomethingRandomInc]

I'm 18. I don't feel like an adult. Now I know why!

[chickenmonger]

Age does not equal wisdom, though the more we age the more knowledge you get. Scars can be left by more life, and wisdom is more than mere knowledge.

[MrBananapie]

becoming mature can come at 12 or 30 years of age. its just the persons experiences in life that make them that way, take for an instance a 12 year old might become more mature faster due to having to take care of younger siblings when their parents are out at work usually for low income and low educated families in 3rd world countries, however a 30 year old that get what they want when they want like a princess will never mature since they don't need to develop the brain to think in a responsible or mature way, hence in short the maturity of a person is just how fast they can adapt to the every changing world, responsibly and respectfully toward matters.

[jokeman]

For girls: first time you don't cry when your relationship ends. For guys: first time you cry when your relationship ends.

[MichiganTechReviewer]

I'm weird, I never was affected by peer pressure, never wanted to experiment with drugs, alcohol, or sex, and my emotions never took control of how I acted. Could be the military upbringing I have but I'm a very weird teen.

[evesmith]

could you do a video about things like depression, anxiety and panic attacks and let people know that THEY ARE SERIOUS people aren't just attention seeking

[scorpionattack]

I don't know about you guys, but I'm 13, never had sex, of course, never used or wanted to do/try drugs and I don't care about what others say. I am extremely proud of who I am and am not ashamed of saying something that is "unnormal" for others. I also see a lot of teens doing stupid things, like not thinking of the consequences of foolish actions and that talk without actual knowledge and/or logic. 
People are so ignorant these days. I go to a psychiatrist as well, and we've done many tests, and my IQ is fairly higher than most people my age. I've always been a deep thinker - of my actions and of just regular things and thoughts. I've made a 4-page story of my life as well for school (which you may consider little, but I didn't go into full detail and I have only lived for 13 years), my teacher told me she's never seen anything like this coming from a person at this age. I was pretty surprised, as I've mostly always written stories like these.
Recently about 4 months ago, I was diagnosed with pre-psychotic depression. It was absolutely horrible. I still have this depression, but I've healed a lot after time. I take medications as well and believe they help.

[seandavison]

as unfortunate as it may be, education is really the only significant factor in whether an individual be allowed to vote. a democracy relies on a well informed electorate. why are there no STEM fields in congress? 

[MrEnjizzle]

DNews, you guys read my survey response. And you delivered. Well done. Keep up the good work.

[taylorrobertmorrison]

I did mad drugs in highschool. Weed, shrooms, lsd, dmt, dxm, E, coke, mdma, adderal. Didn't effect me at all. I'm about to turn 20 and I have my life together more than most of the "adults" around me.

[Adam-uiyn]

I'm 18 and fairly mature for my age as she was naming all the things I was like damn im doing pretty well i don't fall into any of these catagories then she said speeding.